Civil War relics stolen at Cape Fear Museum

Friday

Jul 26, 2013 at 4:56 PM

On Friday morning, museum officials discovered the items were missing from a display cabinet

By Julian MarchJulian.March@StarNewsOnline.com

Authorities are searching for a thief who nabbed five Civil War-era objects from a display cabinet at Wilmington's Cape Fear Museum. On Friday morning, museum officials discovered the items were missing from a display cabinet. The lock was broken during the robbery.The missing items were a U.S. Army oval brass belt buckle with "US" stamped on the face, a Confederate infantry brass button stamped with "I" on the face, a Confederate artillery brass button stamped with "A" on the face and two Confederate North Carolina brass buttons stamped with "NC" and a seven-point starburst pattern, according to a news release."It is very distressing that we would have been targeted in this manner," said Museum Curator Barbara Rowe, in the release. The museum is working with the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office to investigate the theft."Our utmost priority is working with the sheriff's office to recover these objects to our collection," Rowe said.Museum officials are presuming the items were stolen within 24 hours of the Friday morning discovery, said Amy Kilgore Mangus, a museum spokeswoman. The heist likely occurred while the museum was open. "We did not receive any alarms," Mangus said. The museum, at 814 Market St., has motion-activated alarms and sensors on the doors.The museum does not have any guards posted inside. They had guards years ago, but the guard positions were cut due to budget constraints, Mangus said. The museum does have security cameras, but not in the space that housed the Civil War-era objects. Sheriff's investigators did fingerprint the glass case.Mangus said museum officials are hoping the items will turn up. The museum is asking area pawn and antique shop owners and private collectors to be on the lookout for the items. Anyone with information about the theft can contact the sheriff's office at (910) 798-4260. The museum has asked deputies to be on hand this weekend. "We wanted to make sure there weren't any copycat situations," she said. The museum has not reported a similar robbery in recent memory, Mangus said. Museum officials are planning to evaluate their security procedures in the wake of the robbery.

Julian March: 343-2099On Twitter: @julian_march

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.